Friday, November 13, 2009

Balloon head gets plea bargain for Balloon Boy parents

Yes, BB's parents pled guilty, Dad to a felony. Another win for Clarence Darrowish Wart-lawyer David Lane, who said an incredibly stupid thing after the plea:

After the hearing, Richard Heene's attorney David Lane said that the seriousness of the charges reflects the anger Americans felt after learning they had been duped by the parents into fearing for Falcon's safety.

"Don't mess with America's emotions," Lane said. "America has the emotional instability of a hormonal teenager."

That includes, of course, the judge in the case, right, Dave? Very smart. Further quotage:

Richard and Mayumi Heene quietly answered a handful of questions from a judge as she pled guilty to a misdemeanor and he to a felony. They made no other statement during the short hearing.

Larimer District Judge Stephen J. Schapanski allowed them to remain free on bond until sentencing on Dec. 23, and did not discuss the possible sentences they face. Each could be eligible for brief jail terms. . . .

Schapanski said restitution for the search will be part of any sentence they face.

"The financial consequences will be significant," Schapanski said.

The arrest affidavit for Richard Heene was unsealed after the hearing. It charges that deputies found evidence in the home that the Heenes were having financial trouble, and had been working with a company called RDF Media Group to pitch a reality show about the family to networks.

The affidavit says the balloon was manufactured specifically for the hoax, and that the release, the fake 911 call and the parents claim to deputies that Falcon was aboard were all intended to "influence" deputies into conducting a search and "in turn, attract media attention."

Well, duh.

Update: Caplis and Silverman have Lane on. Silverman: Did he (Heene) do anything wrong?

Lane: As a matter of law, yes.

Lane says that Heene pled guilty to a class-four felony because otherwise prosecutors would have charged his wife, a Japanese national, with a felony, which would have left her open to deportation.

Caplis mocks Lane's claim that Heene loves his children. Lane: there are many forms of love. Caplis goes mental, pointing out that anyone who would try a hoax like this with his six-year-old child is messed up.

Lane: Beating your children, raping your children . . . this doesn't even make it on that scale (I'm paraphrasing).

Lane: The only reason (Heene) was charged with a felony was media hysteria . . .

Silverman: Who created the hysteria . . .

Will they get jailtime? The wife may get one day . . . No followup on Heene pere.

At the end Caplis attacks Lane for the "Ward Churchill-type garbage you keep throwing out." to "a tiny bunch." Lane asks, "you mean, the jury?" Caplis says he means the assholes (my term) around Wart. Lane again defends his characterization of Americans in general as "hormonal teenagers."